Learn To Be Alone Without Feeling Lonely

This seems trivial, but it is important. In high school, especially with the advent of social media, the pleasure centers of our brains are so easily stimulated by easy access to people who ‘like,’ ‘favorite,’ respond angrily, or throw flattery our way that we can become addicted to the constant influx of digital love. This same inability to be alone has always existed, but it is not always good. We are a part of the human race, of our family, of our neighborhood, sports teams, classrooms, churches and nation, it is true. But we are also individuals. If we never take time to sit with our thoughts (no music, no people, no media, no book in hand), then it is difficult to recognize our faults, our victories, or even our own soul amidst the noise of the world around us. Learning to sit in silence for a few minutes a day with no agenda but contemplation, prayer, or simply listening to the sounds around you without feeling antsy, lonely, or bored is supremely needed in our era. Learn this in high school, because if you’re media addicted in college and it hurts your grades it will cost you money. And if you’re over social but do not know yourself well enough to make true friends, it will cost you even more.